One of the chapters in the book talks about a builder's murder in 1995, wherein Abu Salem is the prime accused, and a judgment in the trial is expected soon.
The special TADA court has ordered that all unsold copies of a book on Abu Salem, titled 'My Name is Abu Salem', written by journalist-author Hussain Zaidi, be withdrawn till pendency of the trial.
Gangster Salem, one of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, had filed an application in the special TADA court last month seeking a ban on the book -- released a week ago -- saying he had never spoken to Zaidi.
On Saturday, the court directed the publisher, Penguin, to withdraw all unsold copies of the 22,000 currently in circulation. One of Salem's primary objections is related to chapter eight of the book, which talks about the murder of builder Pradeep Jain in 1995. Salem is the prime accused, and a judgment in the trial, being heard by the TADA court, is expected.
Special TADA judge G A Sanap also refused the request of the publishers to stay the order for two weeks to allow them time to approach the high court. "The timing of the book's release is extremely wrong. The author has overstepped his authority. They should have taken permission of the court before doing this. The book is restrained from release till further orders. It should not be available in stores and e-portals and not be seen on any display in India," The judge said.
Welcoming the verdict, Salem's lawyer Ashwin Thool said that the timing of the book's release was the main point of contention. "It's the timing we are objecting to. The trial is at its fag end and the first half of the book has already declared Salem as a cold blooded murderer. Zaidi has said that he has come across a certain transcript on the basis of which he has written the book, but that has not been given to the court," Thool said.
Zaidi, however, said that Salem's objection stems from the fact that he (Zaidi) refused to write a film scrip on his life. "I have written about Abu Salem in my previous books as well but he didn't object. I think he is creating problems at this juncture because I refused to write a film script on him," Zaidi said. Salem's lawyer, however, said that his client had never consented to Zaidi writing a book about him in the first place.
Advocate Upendra Mahadik, appearing for Zaidi and Penguin, said that of the 25,000 books published, 22,000 were already in circulation. "We never intended to cause any harm to the trial. It's only a story," he said. The judge asked Mahadik whether they had Abu Salem's consent to write a book on him, to which he replied in the negative.
The judge also objected to the fact that witnesses, whose names were not given out for their own safety, were named in the book. "You have named witnesses and commented on the evidence of witnesses recorded by the court," the judge said.